As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, I am proud that Canada’s new government is moving swiftly to better protect victims and survivors and ensure abusers and predators face the full force of the law. The introduction of Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, represents one of the most consequential reforms of the Criminal Code in a generation. This landmark legislation strengthens protections for victims of sexual violence, gender-based violence, and intimate partner violence, while also working to keep children safe from predators.
A core priority of the legislation is to stop intimate partner violence and femicide. Bill C-16 proposes classifying murders motivated by hate, coercive control, sexual violence, or exploitation as first-degree murder, even without planning and deliberation, reflecting the gravity of crimes that overwhelmingly target women.
It also creates a new offence criminalizing patterns of coercive or controlling behaviour, allowing earlier intervention before violence escalates. The bill modernizes protections against sexual violence by prohibiting the distribution of non-consensual sexual deepfakes, increasing penalties for sharing intimate images without consent, and strengthening summary conviction penalties for sexual assault.
To keep children safe from predators, Bill C-16 restores and strengthens mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment for child sexual offences, ensuring those who prey on children face serious consequences. It also cracks down on online sextortion by criminalizing threats to distribute child sexual abuse material, expanding offences related to child luring, and requiring online platforms to preserve data longer to support investigations.
Recognizing that criminal organizations increasingly target youth, the legislation creates a new offence for recruiting young people into crime, ensuring those who manipulate, or groom minors are met with strong penalties. Bill C-16 also improves the justice process for victims by providing clearer guidance to courts on how to manage delays and by enhancing access to information, testimonial aids, and trauma-informed supports.
Finally, the bill strengthens mandatory minimum penalties across the Criminal Code while ensuring they remain constitutional. Judges would retain limited discretion to avoid grossly disproportionate outcomes, except in cases like murder and high treason, while still requiring jail time. With Bill C-16, our government is taking decisive action to protect communities, uphold justice, and stand firmly with victims and survivors.